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Waterborne diseases on the rise in Aden

There has been a rise in the number of cases of cholera in Yemen’s de facto capital city, Aden, medical sources have said.

In the past week alone, six people have died of the waterborne disease and 78 new cases have been identified, local news outlet Aden Ghad reported yesterday.

Dr Mohammed Mustafa Rajmnar, senior director of the Healthcare Office in Aden, urged locals to look out for the symptoms to ensure early diagnosis. He also called on people not to use antibiotics unless they have been prescribed by a doctor.

He also explained that the World Health Organisation has provided medical supplies to Aden to combat the growing “epidemic”.

A special hotline has been set up for those suspected to have the disease. Cholera is contracted from food or water. Aden is currently being rebuilt, after months of destruction following in-fighting and Saudi-led coalition airstrikes when it was invaded by Houthi militias and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh last year.

Yemen’s capital Sana’a is under the control of Houthi and Saleh forces.

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